California must buy land before conducting suitability tests
“California must buy land before conducting suitability tests for a massive tunnel project that will divert water south to thirsty farms and residents, a state appeals court ruled.
The Department of Water Resources wants to build two 30-mile tunnels to send fresh water under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Central and Southern California. Before work on the $25 billion project can start, however, the state needs to run geological and environmental suitability tests on hundreds of properties to determine the exact route for the tunnels.
But landowners balked when the department said it planned to do the tests without buying the properties first. The state then petitioned a San Joaquin County Superior Court for entrance to the affected properties to make the precondemnation studies.
The trial court found that the planned geological studies – which involve drilling holes 200 feet into the ground and permanently filling them with concrete when the testing is finished – constitutes a taking that required condemnation.
But the judge granted permission to conduct the environmental studies, giving the state a yearlong blanket permission slip to enter the properties at will for up to 66 days and with eight personnel for each visit. In return, the state agreed to deposit a predetermined sum in anticipation of potential damage to and interference with the properties.”
http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/03/17/66219.htm
Dotinga, William. Courthouse News Service 17 March 2014.